Children and ferrets, are they compatible?
Children and ferrets: The fundamental reason why we usually want to have pets when we already have children is that they can develop a greater awareness of animal respect, greater responsibility for the care of others, and have regular fun with a playmate. However, the first thing to keep in mind is that pets should never be in charge of children, but adults.
- The reason that dogs and cats (in this order) are the most demanded pets is that they integrate very easily into human routines, they support our displays of affection quite well (which are “excessive” for other animals, and not understand them), and even participate in certain reciprocity when it comes to playing, resting and respecting rules of coexistence. But ferrets are neither dogs nor cats, they can be trained and develop behavior that respects certain limits but, despite their cuddly appearance, they are not docile animals to live with a minor without direct adult supervision.
- It is essential that a ferret that is going to live with children is well educated, or that it spends about a year under the constant training of an adult so that its behavior is ideal with the minor and with the rest of the house. This will be practically impossible if the animal has been mistreated in a previous home because in that case, it will have developed the survival instinct so that it will try to defend itself at the first opportunity.
- The minimum age for a child to optimally interact with a ferret is six years, it is the age at which the child can begin to understand and respect the limits on how to treat the animal, and will not cross the red lines to “try” What’s up. A ferret that feels that its own space is being invaded or that it is given excessive signs of affection or its rest is not respected, may develop some aggressiveness that results in bites.
- The biggest problem ferrets pose is their biting drive. In almost any situation when the ferret feels the need to issue a response, it will bite, they use it to play, perceive, and defend themselves. This is so because in part it helps them to test space and relationships: they do not see well and their sense of smell is not very good either. They use touch for everything, to identify who is in front of them, to interpret distances and spaces, and to show disagreement or affection, by biting.
Behaviors that make relationships with children difficult
Ferrets are crepuscular, that is, as long as it is daytime they will not want to play.
The common thing for them is to sleep peacefully as long as there is light, for this they need to go inside, in the natural world they stay in their holes protected from the sun, but domestic ferrets look for either corners of the house that serve as “galleries”, such as behind or under the sofa, or inside a cupboard they have access to.Ideally, they should sleep in their cage, but with a blanket on top that completely prevents access to light.
They do not like to have their sleep interrupted, they need it to wake up with vitality, for all this it is complex for a child to understand that he cannot and should not play with the pet at certain times, because it would interrupt his sleep and even the ferret could become violent during this conflict and bite.
On the other hand, when ferrets get up from their long nap, they are very active, they are pure dynamite. They move with great speed, and they want to have fun hunting, because that is their instinct.
It is a good time for the child to relate to the animal. But the ferret will want to play catch with the human, the child. If it is well educated there will be no problem, they will chase each other around the house and finally the ferret will bite gently.
They are animals capable of distinguishing between game and real hunting, like dogs. However, if the child takes the game further and is aggressive, vindictive or does not control his strength (superior to the ferret), he will feel the need to bite.An important problem in the relationship between children and ferrets is that minors can end up developing a certain fear or trauma to bites if they experience constant and somewhat violent episodes from the ferret.
For this reason, it is essential that they always have the supervision of an adult who can keep the limits and behavior of both clear.
Benefits of living with a ferret
- If a child develops enough empathy, understanding and self-control to live with and respect the ferret, the gift they are getting in return will be very valuable as it will lay the foundation for a very complete and deep animal consciousness.
- Understanding that ferrets (and other animals) are not toys, that they feel, that they need their space, their time and that they have unique needs, are the basic rules to build subsequent respect for animals and towards the rest of society .
- A Child who lives with a ferret will be able to develop a special level of responsibility, deepen their empathy and emotional development . He will be able to establish his own stress control guidelines, based on the relationship with the animals, and will feel especially accompanied by them.
- It has been shown that children who manage to establish a balanced relationship with animals also have a better self-perception of themselves, which is equivalent to better self-esteem and other social gears such as collaboration, fidelity and care for themselves and towards others. the rest.